Tighter Army security slows civilians

RUSS BYNUMAssociated Press

Published Monday, August 27, 2001

FORT STEWART, Ga. -- Gwen Martin figures she'll spend an extra 30 minutes stuck in traffic every day because of a big change in the neighborhood -- the Army post next door is becoming a gated community.

Starting Tuesday, the largest Army post east of the Mississippi River, long open to civilians as well as soldiers, will begin using guarded checkpoints at all eight entrances to the sprawling post.

That means rush-hour traffic jams for nearly 20,000 soldiers and about 3,500 civilians who work at Fort Stewart, as well as for untold numbers of commuters who pass through as a shortcut to two state highways spanning the post just west of Savannah in southeast Georgia.

The gating of Fort Stewart is part of an Army-wide directive to beef up security.

As part of that change, which the Army started phasing in Aug. 1, more than 70 percent of the nation's Army posts have decided to install guarded checkpoints. Until now, 99 of the 136 posts in the United States had allowed visitors to enter unchecked.

Army officials say the checkpoints aren't intended to keep civilians out, just to keep track of visitors as a guard against anything from theft to terrorism.

''You have locks on your front door, you have a doorbell. We just want to ensure we know who's coming to visit us,'' said Maj. Chris Conway, an Army spokesman.

That will likely mean long lines at rush hour for Fort Stewart, where thousands of soldiers reporting for daily exercises start arriving at 5:30 a.m. on the five-lane road at the 279,000-acre post's main entrance.

Martin and other residents of neighboring Hinesville say it's a hassle.

''I understand the rationale,'' said Martin, an elementary school counselor whose commute takes her 20 miles across the fort on a highway where signs warn of tank crossings and firing on rifle ranges.

''But it's not really like a separate base. It's a part of Hinesville,'' she said. ''You almost have to go through to have access to other places.''

Fort Stewart's military police gave their checkpoints a trial run Aug. 16 but called it off when traffic backed up a half-mile from the main gate. By that time, guards had checked 16,500 vehicles, said post spokeswoman Dina McKain.

''People ought to expect some delays and just be patient during the normal rush hours,'' said Lt. Col. David Van Laar, Fort Stewart's public safety director. ''Eventually, everybody will get used to it, and it'll just be a matter of routine.''

The small office that registers soldiers' vehicles has been swamped with demand for the car decals that soldiers and civilian employees will need to enter the post without stopping.

''We have had at times standing room only, with some people standing outside the door,'' said Staff Sgt. Craig Hysell. He estimates that he has been issuing 400 decals a day.

Security measures vary from base to base.

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., visited by 3 million tourists annually, doesn't plan any changes. Military police already randomly check visitors at the academy's entrances and will continue that, said spokesman Maj. Kirk Frady.

Along with checking motorists, Fort Jackson in South Carolina has started asking cyclists and hikers to show ID before using trails on the post. In North Carolina, Fort Bragg set up vehicle checkpoints Aug. 1, but military police stop civilian cars only during daily random sweeps.

''We're such a large post, I think that it would be impossible to stop everyone,'' said Maria Taylor, a spokeswoman at Fort Bragg, which has 42,000 soldiers.

At Fort Stewart, soldiers and military retirees buying groceries at the post commissary said they understood the need for tighter security, especially since the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen.

''It should've been done a long time ago. There's too much access,'' said Robert Harvey of Hinesville, who retired from the Army in 1991. ''You and I, we wouldn't think about doing the things terrorists do. And this would be a good place for them to do it.''